Ari/Lloyd Office Rhetoric

As mentioned in a previous blog Lloyd is Ari's assistant. Ari and Lloyd have a love/hate relationship. Lloyd works very hard as Ari's assistant so that he can be taken seriously and considered for an agent position in the future. However, Ari always condescends Lloyd, even though he loves him deep down.

All of the jokes that Ari make's at Lloyd's expense are making fun of him for being gay and/or Asian. When Ari wants Lloyd to feel bad about how he handles his job he refers to Lloyd's sex life. Sexual terminology is referrenced often, and has negative connotations in connection to Lloyd. He makes fun of Lloyd for being gay and Asian in nearly every episode of season 6, he also hassles him about his weight. Lloyd always responds well to Ari's insults. He usually just brushes it off and keeps his mind focused on the task he is currently working on. Sometimes, he will even laugh or go along with the abuse.

Not only does Ari constantly yell at Lloyd, but he also talks down to all of his other employees. He makes sexist comments to female coworkers, and he does not listen to anyone else's opinions. There is a lot of pressure in the office because all of the agents are competing for clients against other agencies.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect that comes from this office rhetoric is that fact that there aren't any consequences for Ari's behavior because he is the boss. Ironically, he shows no respect to his coworkers, but expects respect in return.

The rhetoric used by Ari is what makes the show a comedy. Without Ari, there would not be any comedic relief. The show would just be a series of hookups with a movie gig thrown in on occassion. With every one-liner and sexual innuendo, Ari steals the show.

The Role of Marijuana on Entourage

The use of marijuana on entourage is prevalent but it is usually not discussed openly. Scenes that are shown with the

boys smoking marijuana are usually just leisure time while the boys are talking. The actual act of smoking the

marijuana is not discussed or heavily focused on. A fellow blogger from collegehumor.com posted, "it brings a

certain reality to the episodes because it's not the main focus of each scene, but you definitely can't ignore it's

happening."

Most depictions of fame in hollywood films often portray drugs as being heavily used and easily available. They are

always around and life centers around the drugs. For entourage, it is always around but life is not centered around

smoking marijuana.

The issue at hand is whether or not the glamorization of drugs, and marijuana in particular, affects the population

that watches these shows/movies that show the characters smoking pot. Steve Dnistrian from the Partnership for a

Drug-Free America says, "These are trendsetting shows. They affect behavior and attitudes, particularly among teens.

When glamorization of drugs has climbed, changes in teen attitudes has followed." (Steve Dnistrian was commenting

on the use of pot in Entourage, Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Rescue Me, and That 70's show during a USA Today

interview).

Jerry Ferrara, who plays Turtle is the character that is shown smoking marijuana the most. He commented on the use

of marijuana on the show by saying, "it's the choice of twentysomethings. The show doesn't condone it, but there is

definitely a lot of accuracy in how it is used."

My personal opinion is that the show is intended for a mature audience. It is on late night HBO and critics rarely talk

about the harmful effects that the show has on teens from showing prostitutes or scantily clad women. The use of

marijuana is not that much different.

Ashley

Ashley played E's girlfriend for most of the sixth season. She owns her own beaded jewelry business and spends the majority of her time stalking Eric. To sum up her character, I would say that she is an insecure, neurotic, obsessed, phsycho.

When Eric and her are hanging out she is constantly checking his blackberry and questioning every missed call and message. She even deletes voice mails from Sloan. When E tells her that is on the phone with Vince, she doesn't even believe him. She randomly shows up at his work unannounced just to see if he is at his office. To make it worse, she demands Eric's password for his e-mail so that she can keep constant tabs on him. She is jealous of Sloan, E's secretary, and all of his friends. She can't stand that his life involves anyone besides her.

Yet for some unknown reason, E went along with everything she told him to do up until she demanded his e-mail password. Although, he first considered just handing it over along with his dignity. It is no wonder that E ended up back with Sloan after dating the crazy. Sloan may not be a down to earth girl but at least she has some self respect.

I am left wondering why the women of the show that do not specifically fit into the "bitch"/"slut" roles tend to emasculate E. The only characters that are outside the gendered norms both play Eric's girlfriends, and they both make him feel weak. Maybe it is just Eric that is weak. He is unaware of what he wants and he is lonely without a girlfriend therefore he lets the women in his life push him around.

Sloan

Sloan is perhaps the only female character on Entourage that is not considered a "bitch" or "slut", and this makes her character the most interesting female in my opinion. For those of you that do not already know Sloan is played by Emmanuelle Chriqui. She is a gorgeous actress and a powerful woman on the show. Sloan works in public relations and is the daughter of Ari's former boss. She dated Eric on and off for three years.

In the season finale, Eric decides that he wants to get Sloan back because he realizes the dating scene is overrated. Of course, this epiphany came to him after he had an STD scare after hooking up with a random bar skank. Anyways, after three years of back and forth games, Sloan agreed to go for a ride with E. He takes her out for a romantic meal and drops the bomb that he wants to get back together. Sloan gets upset and demands that Eric take her home since they are now strictly friends and she has a new boyfriend. Eric refuses and takes her to the beach and then proposes to her to prove his commitment. The problem with Eric and Sloan's relationship throughout the show has been that he wasn't mature enough to commit to her. His friends and his job always came first, and she just received any attention that was left over after that. Well, Sloan agreed to marry Eric once he proved that he was willing to commit. The episode ended with a happily ever after vibe.

However, it leaves me wondering if Eric and Sloan's relationship will be any better just because he decided to propose. After all, she was dating someone else on the very day that she was proposed to. The last few years have been filled with bickering and unnecessary drama. She also played a lot of games with him, changing her mind about their relationship constantly. She always said that Eric wasn't mature enough, but it seemed like Eric was willing to do anything to be with her. He found a new job and bought his own house to show Sloan how serious he was. Even then, she still continued to see the negative. So just because he gave her a ring, she all of a sudden decides to be with him? What has really changed? This relationship seems doomed and I am beginning to wonder why the boys all love Sloan aside from her attractive looks.

Identity

During season six each of the guys learned a little more about what they want for their own lives. Before season six, all of the boy's lives revolved around Vince's acting gigs. This is the first season that each of them has decided to make plans for their own lives.

Turtle went back to school. He began college courses so that he could find a future for himself now that Vince knows how to drive. Eric became an agent at a powerful agency and is starting to sign his own clients, plus he is now engaged to Sloan. Drama decided that he can't live without acting because its a part of who he is. It actually seems that this season Vince is doing less than everyone else, and he is lonely because of it.

We have recently learned that Turtle is sensitive, Eric is in charge of his life, and Drama is confident. These are sides that we have not had the chance to see before. The personalities show depth. It has been interesting to see them each as individuals rather than just Vince's friends/employees. Now I would like to see Drama in a serious relationship because we have yet to see his love life. I would also like to see Vince in a relationship that lasts for more than a few episodes.